The present study examines the relationship between witnessing or being a victim of domestic violence as a child and becoming part of a violent marital relationship as an adult. The sample was composed of 187 abused women (mean age= 36; SD= 10 and range 17-67) living in the Canary Islands. The study results suggest a moderate relationship between growing up in an abusive family and becoming involved in a violent marital relationship. Males and females are impacted differently by their experiences with violence in childhood. Men who experienced both abuse as a child and witnessed parental violence perpetrate more severe marital violence than those males who only witnessed domestic violence or those without a history of domestic violence. Women who witnessed domestic violence and those who were both witness and victim of childhood violence tended to have more depressive and somatic symptoms than females without a history of domestic violence.